Phil Ehr

Phil Ehr (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 28th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Biography

Phil Ehr earned an undergraduate degree from the University of the State of New York and a master's degree in international relations from Troy State University. Ehr served in the United States Navy from 1982 to 2008.^[1]

Elections

2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Florida District 28

Incumbent Carlos Gimenez, Phil Ehr, and Herrera Macuran are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 28 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Carlos Gimenez (R)
		Phil Ehr (D)
	Submit photo	Herrera Macuran (R)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

Florida's 28th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)

Florida's 28th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 28

Incumbent Carlos Gimenez defeated Phil Ehr in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 28 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Carlos Gimenez (R)	64.6	210,057
	Phil Ehr (D)	35.4	115,280

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 325,337
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Elan Vyskocil (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Phil Ehr advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 28.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Carlos Gimenez advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 28.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ehr in this election.

2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Florida

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Florida on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Rick Scott (R)	55.6	5,977,706
	Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D)	42.8	4,603,077
	Ben Everidge (No Party Affiliation)	0.6	62,683
	Feena Bonoan (L)	0.5	57,363
	Tuan Nguyen (No Party Affiliation)	0.5	56,586
	Howard Knepper (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in)	0.0	13

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,757,428
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Shantele Bennett (No Party Affiliation)
Grace Granda (No Party Affiliation)
Marcos Reyes (No Party Affiliation)
A.C. Toulme (One Earth Party)
Mason Cysewski (G)
Salomon Hernandez (No Party Affiliation)
Randy Toler (G)
Samir Hazza (No Party Affiliation)
James Davis (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell defeated Stanley Campbell, Brian Rush, and Rod Joseph in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida on August 20, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Debbie Mucarsel-Powell	68.5	747,397
	Stanley Campbell	19.6	213,777
	Brian Rush	6.7	73,013
	Rod Joseph	5.2	56,961

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,091,148
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Incumbent Rick Scott defeated Keith Gross and John Columbus in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida on August 20, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Rick Scott	84.4	1,283,904
	Keith Gross	9.4	142,392
	John Columbus	6.3	95,342

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,521,638
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Feena Bonoan advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Florida.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ehr in this election.

2020

Florida's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)

Florida's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 18 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 1

Incumbent Matt Gaetz defeated Phil Ehr and Albert Oram in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Gaetz (R)	64.6	283,352
		Phil Ehr (D)	34.0	149,172
	Submit photo	Albert Oram (No Party Affiliation)	1.4	6,038

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 438,562
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Phil Ehr advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 1.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Cheryl Howard (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1

Incumbent Matt Gaetz defeated John Mills and Greg Merk in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1 on August 18, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Matt Gaetz	80.9	87,457
	John Mills	9.6	10,383
	Greg Merk	9.5	10,227

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 108,067 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Chase Anderson Romagnano (R)
Emily Rosas (R)

2018

See also: Florida's 1st Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 1

Incumbent Matt Gaetz defeated Jennifer Zimmerman in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 1 on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Matt Gaetz (R)	67.1	216,189
	Jennifer Zimmerman (D)	32.9	106,199

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 322,388 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 1

Jennifer Zimmerman defeated Phil Ehr in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 1 on August 28, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jennifer Zimmerman	60.5	22,422
	Phil Ehr	39.5	14,650

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 37,072
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1

Incumbent Matt Gaetz defeated Cris Dosev and John Mills in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1 on August 28, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Matt Gaetz	64.8	65,203
	Cris Dosev	30.2	30,433
	John Mills	5.0	4,992

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 100,628
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

Phil Ehr has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Phil Ehr asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Phil Ehr, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Phil Ehr to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing phil@ehrforce.com.

2024

Phil Ehr did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Ehr’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Phil's Priorities Fight for freedom and democracy at home and abroad Reduce Florida's rising cost of living and strengthen Medicare & Social Security Secure our borders & reform legal immigration Stop the mass murder epidemic by enacting responsible gun laws Champion public education and labor unions in Florida Restore women's reproductive by eliminating government Protect Florida's environment by building clean energy & water infrastructure ^[2]	”
—Phil Ehr’s campaign website (2024)^[3]

2024

Phil Ehr did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys

Phil Ehr participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on August 16, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Phil Ehr's responses follow below.^[4]

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

“

Congress is broken. It’s jammed by partisan warfare and political idolatry of the president. We all suffer from the dysfunction and unnecessary drama. We need a new Congress that works for all people--majorities and minorities--and fulfils its responsibility as the first of three equal branches.

While fighting to restore regular order in Congress, I would press Congress for the long-promised infrastructure bill to stimulate good-paying jobs in future leaning industries, such as renewable energy and water management. I’d fight to include workforce skills training and small business development. I would press to pay for the bill by reducing the 2017 tax cut windfalls, which have not resulted in durable wages increases. I would fight for Congress to gain control over the reckless tariffs that threaten inflation and economic instability.

Additionally, I would fight to reduce costs for healthcare and prescription drugs while seeking to repair the Affordable Care Act. I would restore federal support for public schools and respect for teachers. In view of the current majority party’s attack on the social safety net, I would fight to guarantee Medicare and Social Security.

Finally, I would vigorously defend Northwest Florida’s twin blessings of military bases and pristine beaches. I’ll fight to strengthen the military, honor our commitment to veterans, and preserve the public’s customary use of our friendly Emerald Coast beaches.^[5]^[2]

”

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?

“

My priority is to make the American Dream a reality for Northwest Florida’s poor and middle class by fighting for more good-paying jobs, affordable healthcare and access to education. Changes to the 2017 tax law are needed to enable the middle class to lead economic growth.

These are the kitchen table issues that working people and their families care about the most. We can achieve these priorities by restoring real leadership for the people of Florida’s first district.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many^[2]

”

Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Phil Ehr answered the following:

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

“

Easter! It's truly a holy day that also symbolizes springtime renewal. And it's a great time to visit the beach!^[2]

”

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Phil Ehr campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Florida District 28	Candidacy Declared general	$162,963	$76,322
2024*	U.S. House Florida District 28	Lost general	$1,199,608	$1,186,116
2024*	U.S. Senate Florida	Withdrew primary	$0	N/A**
2020	U.S. House Florida District 1	Lost general	$2,047,923	$1,923,275
2018	U.S. House Florida District 1	Lost primary	$80,982	N/A**
Grand total			$3,491,475	$3,185,714
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

U.S. House Florida District 28

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 3, 2020
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Phil Ehr’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed July 24, 2024
↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Phil Ehr's responses," August 16, 2018

[show]

Florida's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ashley Moody (R)

Rick Scott (R)

Representatives

District 1

Jimmy Patronis (R)

District 2

Neal Dunn (R)

District 3

Kat Cammack (R)

District 4

Aaron Bean (R)

District 5

John Rutherford (R)

District 6

Randy Fine (R)

District 7

Cory Mills (R)

District 8

Mike Haridopolos (R)

District 9

Darren Soto (D)

District 10

Maxwell Frost (D)

District 11

Daniel Webster (R)

District 12

Gus Bilirakis (R)

District 13

Anna Luna (R)

District 14

Kathy Castor (D)

District 15

Laurel Lee (R)

District 16

Vern Buchanan (R)

District 17

Greg Steube (R)

District 18

Scott Franklin (R)

District 19

Byron Donalds (R)

District 20

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D)

District 21

Brian Mast (R)

District 22

Lois Frankel (D)

District 23

Jared Moskowitz (D)

District 24

Frederica Wilson (D)

District 25

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)

District 26

Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

District 27

Maria Elvira Salazar (R)

District 28

Carlos Gimenez (R)

Republican Party (22)

Democratic Party (8)

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 3, 2020

[quotedisclaimer-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[3] Phil Ehr’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed July 24, 2024

[4] Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.

[BPsurvey-5] Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Phil Ehr's responses," August 16, 2018

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

	v • e State of Florida Tallahassee (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2025 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy

Phil Ehr

Biography

Elections

2026

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 28

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 28

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian primary election

Endorsements

2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 1

Democratic primary election

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 1

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 1

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

2024

Campaign website

2024

2020

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

SITE NAVIGATION